Report of persecution and harassment of leader waste pickers in Colombia

The Association of Waste pickers of Bogota (ARB) published this report (download PDF) describing the current condition experienced by trade union leaders in Colombia. This association represents thousands of the city’s informal waste pickers and, thanks to the union struggle, it has secured the 2011 court ruling  which considers that waste pickers can compete with waste companies for municipal contracts, among other achievements. However, all the rights earned by the waste picker union brought along threats, persecutions and public denigration,  followed even by assaults and theft at the union office.